Golf cart bill parked for now

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COLUMBIA -- A change in state law that could result in pulling light, electric golf carts off roadways and replacing them with conventional automobiles has hit a temporary hurdle.

On Tuesday, House lawmakers postponed a vote on whether to give local governments the power to outlaw golf carts on streets and roads. The proposal, H. 3631, failed to advance Wednesday, after some lawmakers questioned its ramifications.

“This affects everyone statewide,” said an activist identified only as SC Golf Cart, who sent a widely circulated email this week aimed at killing the proposal. “It doesn't matter if you are in Pawleys Island, Hilton Head, Fountain Inn, Columbia, Newberry, Clemson, Florence, or Aiken.”

The Municipal Association of South Carolina, meanwhile, supports the pending change.

“We believe this is in the best interest of safety for those who use golf carts and those who share the roads with them every day,” said Warren Harley, government affairs liaison for the association, on Wednesday morning.

“I've had conversation with several cities that like the legislation because they want to be able to allow their residents to use golf carts where appropriate,” he said. “So I believe this could be a win for everyone.”

The bill wouldn’t change the legal requirements for golf cart drivers, such as a $5 registration, insurance and drivers license. The proposal, which originally sought only to impose penalties to violators of the current law, was amended last week. Among the additions was the content of a bill by Rep. Bill Herbkersman, R-Bluffton, to legalize nighttime driving if a cart has lights.

A separate amendment has more than 100 people riled up. It would give a town or municipality’s governing body the power to “prohibit the operation of golf carts on any street or highway within the political subdivision if its governing body determines that the prohibition is necessary in the interest of safety.”

On Tuesday, the lawmaker who introduced the controversial amendment, Rep. Stephen Goldfinch, R-Murrels Inlet, acknowledged the objections and said he was trying to find a compromise.

If enacted as is, more than 6,200 golf cart permit holders in Beaufort and Jasper counties could be affected. That's if the local government leaders deemed golf carts to be unsafe for some or all of the roadways where they are currently permitted.

Bills must clear their original chamber and be sent to the opposite one by May 1, the Crossover Day deadline, or face tough odds of becoming law this year.